86 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 8S. 



the Cardinal comes. The Thrasher and Rusty Blackbird, too, 

 all three tenants of our yard for nearly twenty years, moved 

 out or were driven away by this gay and noisy bird. 



A pair of Cardinals made a nest in 1911 in a trellis against 

 the house, about ten feet from the kitchen door, using chiefly 

 bark from the grape arbor across the driveway. They had 

 one young one, that left the nest while it could barely fly 

 six feet, a tailless brownish, homely bird, in late June. It 

 followed and teased the old birds for its food, till they left 

 in the fall. 



In 1912 a pair built in the same spot and raised, to nest- 

 leaving size, one young one. 



Soon the male was whistling and calling as in early spring, 

 and in a few weeks a new nest was found, in a pear 

 tree about two rods distant. It was like the others, made 

 of bark stripped from grapevines, but seemed more flimsy 

 and less well built than the other two. This nest was nearly 

 eight feet from the ground ; the others only five, but "pro- 

 tected" by a rose bush growing against the vine trellis. Again 

 there was one young bird, and the amusing spectacle was 

 presented of the two young birds of different sizes tagging 

 after their parents and clamoring to be fed, and the bigger 

 one tried to get the larger share. 



This continued till the birds left in October. One male, 

 however, remained late, calling and whistling till November. 



On March -1, 1913, a pair came back, and it remains to be 

 seen if they will continue the proceedings. They are cer- 

 tainly quarrelsome ; even the Blue Jays give up the bathing 

 pan to them in haste. 



The musical whistle, repeated at short intervals nearly all 

 day for several months, is monotonous and less pleasing than 

 the variety provided by the Thrasher, the Catbird or the 

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak. There was a little while in late 

 September and early October when they did not whistle and 

 call, but before leaving the whistling was begun again by 

 the one male, who stayed late. 



May 12, 1913. The Cardinal is whistling and calling yet. 



